Inside the Braves with MLB.com's Mark Bowman

Busy holiday season for Wren and the Braves

After making my 11-hour journey back home for the holidays yesterday, I learned that that yesterday’s trade of Javier Vazquez had made many of you just as sick as my three female passengers, who had never previously been introduced to the twists and turns on West Virginia’s mountainous turnpike.

But after looking at this trade and getting a feel for what the Braves learned while navigating this year’s trade market, I’d have to say the only reason that I currently dislike Braves GM Frank Wren stems from the fact that he made a point this morning to point out that the Mexican beaches he is enjoying lack the snow and cold temperatures that exist here in Wheeling, WV. <p>

Before getting into this trade, let’s touch on Troy Glaus, who will seemingly become the Braves new first baseman once he’s able to get to Atlanta to undergo a physical. Weather conditions in the northeast part of the country imited hindered his immediate travel plans.

So with some of the Braves doctors already beginning their vacations, it will likely be after the holiday break before Glaus could be introduced as the newest member of the Braves roster.

Now back to the pitching front, where the Braves committed to trading either Vazquez or Derek Lowe once they gained the belief that Tim Hudson actually provided more certainty than either of these other two veteran right-handers.

It’s no secret that the Braves pushed hard in an attempt to find a suitor for Lowe. But in the process, they found just a couple of potential suitors and each of these clubs wanted them to eat about half of the $45 million the veteran sinkerballer is owed over the next three years.

Given that Vazquez finished fourth in this year’s balloting for the National League Cy Young Award, there was reason to believe the Braves would have a much easier time moving him.

But as time passed, it became apparent that among the clubs looking to acquire a starting pitcher via trade, the Yankees stood as the only potential suitor willing to spend as much as $10 million.

With this in mind, the Braves were thrilled when the Yankees were interested enough in Vazquez to highlight this five-player trade with the inclusion of Arodys Vizcaino, a 19-year-old right-hander who was rated by Baseball America as the third-best prospect in the Yankees organization.

The Braves view Vizcaino as being just as promising as Julio Teheran, a soon-to-be 19-year-old right-hander who was tabbed their third-best prospect by BA.

While making his frustrations known last week, Lowe playfully talked about reports that indicated the Braves were now just looking to get prospects for him. This led the witty right-hander to ask, “What’s next? You think they’ll be able to get an “L” screen for me?”

With Vizcaino, Mike Dunn and Melky Cabrera, the Braves got much more than they would have received in return for the salary dump they would have made by trading Lowe.

Obviously to find value in this trade you have to look far beyond Cabrera, who will serve as a cheap versatile outfielder who can play each of the three outfield positions. When the Braves are facing a tough right-handed pitcher, he could spell Matt Diaz in left field. When they are facing a tough lefty, he could spell Jason Heyward in right field.

Or maybe he just assumes an everyday role in right field until Heyward is deemed Major League ready. Whatever the case, the Braves certainly didn’t view him as the centerpiece of this deal.

There’s no doubt that it’s tough to see Vazquez depart after just one year in an environment where he proved to be so comfortable. He’s a true professional who had a positive impact on Yunel Escobar, Jair Jurrjens and many of the other players in the clubhouse.

But when it came time to make projections, the Braves certainly couldn’t assume that Vazquez would definitely match the career-best season he enjoyed this past season. In fact, there were some members of the organization, who felt it was much smarter to sell high on him and avoid having to sell low on Lowe.

Even with Lowe coming off a career-worst season and Vazquez coming off a career-best season, recent history indicates you could place them in the same category.

Durign the past three seasons, Lowe went 41-35 with a 3.91 ERA and 605 innings pitched. Vazquez went 42-34 with a 3.74 ERA and 644 1/3 innings pitched during this span.

Given that Vazquez spent two of those seasons in the American League and is three years younger, you could certainly argue that he was the guy to keep. But at the same time, the Braves also came to the realization that he was the only member of this duo who was going to provide any kind of return.

Thus while exercising your right to voice your opinion about this trade, keep in mind that it was one that was necessitated once the Braves made the decision to provide Hudson with his three-year contract extension.

If you weren’t in favor of bringing Hudson back, then you certainly have reason to be upset about the fact that Vazquez’s time in Atlanta was limited to just one season. But while kicking and screaming about this, keep in mind there was no guarantee that the Vazquez that appeared last year was going to materialize yet again in 2010.

Before saying happy holidays to all you loyal bloggers, I’d like to add that Wren left Lowe a lengthy message after the pitcher voiced his displeasures to me about the fact that it seemed like the club was giving up on him after just one year.

A few hours later, Lowe sent Wren a text message that essentially said there were no hard feelings.

OK, time for me to send Wren my own holiday wishes. I’m thinking it will consist of a reminder that stepping on seashells will prove much more painful than walking through this snow.

178 Comments

Get real. As a blogwriter it would seem to me you should tell it like it is and not be a homer all the time. I’m a lifelong braves fan but that doesn’t mean you can’t comment or criticize when things are not going well. I get tired of the same old positive spin.

Wren said all along and even through and after the winter meetings, and you said also, that they were confident they could do a Lowe deal. Either that was just unrealistic optimism as usual, or Wren really doesn’t have a good handle on doing difficult deals. He has no trouble with easy ones like this one, or dealing for a rehab project, but I have yet to see a creative high value deal that he has secured that made good sense in the short term and long term.

Personally, I think this deal bites. At first I reserved comments because I was sure that had to be a big bat deal coming behind it. But now it looks like his idea of the big bat is just a one year rental of another guy coming off surgery. So we couldn’t find a good 4 hitter later year, taking a risk on one this year, and that leaves it again to next year to see if we can find a power 4 hitter. How many years is it going to take?

If we had about $16 million to spend and our boatload of prospects we should have been able to be in the mix for Jason Bay or Adrian Gonzalez.

Unless something more happens that we are not anticipating, I’m rating all these offseason moves no more than a C.

Out of all this madness, I’m most curious about what happens to all of these outfielders when ST arrives. Don’t forget, Schafer might be the 2nd most talented outfielder in the mix. If he is healthy and shows the heart that he did last ST, then there might be an odd vet out. He deserves another chance after tearing it up in ST and hurting his wrist so early in the season.

I agree with all the comments by dissatisfied Braves fans. The question is: why trade any of our pitchers at all? Why trade good players for lessor good players? Why not go with your strength? Imagine a pitching staff of: Hudson, Vazquez, Jurrjens, Hanson, and Lowe with Kawakami, Medlen, O’Flannery, Soriano, Moylan, Saito, and Wagner? We would have had depth at starting pitching, backup starters in case one starter went down, middle relief, left handed relief, and after the fifth inning a possibility of Soriano, Moylan, Saito, and Wagner. Imagine having to only play a five inning game? It could have possibly been one of the strongest pitching staffs in the majors and enough to keep us in the pennant race for the whole season. Imagine putting in Hanson as the fifth starter so that, as a young pitcher, he doesn’t have to be overused early in his career. Plus having the character of a player like Vazquez to continue mentoring Jurrjens, Hanson, and Escobar. That’s what chemistry is. Having players around who make other players better. Even with a tight budget where we couldn’t have picked up a big bat, we would always be in the game with pitching and defense. Instead, we have lost some really good pitching for big bats such as Melky Cabrera and Troy Claus. I was at the World Series in Milwaukee in 1958. I lived with this team through the lean years. I loved the team in the fat years. But now we are definitely returning to the lean. It is sad, really. Really sad.

Mr. Bowman,
With all due respect, I completely and utterly disagree with your assessment of this trade. To wake up in the morning and to discover that your favorite team has traded their best pitcher away for nothing is a shock that I don’t believe many fans will be able to get over anytime soon. A talented 19 year old who may never see major league action and an overpaid fourth outfielder is simply an unacceptable return for a pitcher with Javier’s talent. We had pitching and we needed more offense. After this off season Frank Wren has hurt the pitching staff and our offense has not been markedly improved. This was a clear case of the franchise trying to cut corners and trying to save money. Can you honestly tell Braves fans with a straight face that Troy Glaus is a more valuble piece to the club than our ace? Are you saying he’s the cleanup hitter we’ve been waiting on? An aging former third basemen with an injury history a mile long. This season brings back bad memories of our attempted Hudson/Smoltz/Glavine/Hampton rotation a couple years ago. We have an injury prone 1b, an injury prone 3b and the back of our bullpen consisting of two aging veterans. Wren has proved throughout his tenure that more often than not he gets taken behind the shed in trades. Tex to the Angels for Kotchman/Marek(Better than the draft picks?) , Joey Devine to the A’s for Mark Kotsay(Aging vet for a young arm with upside), Soriano to the Rays for Chavez(warm body in spring training for dominant closer), and finally Javier to the Yankees for Melky and two prospects(Our best pitcher, possibly our best player last year for very little return and a move that undoubtedly weakened our big league club) . Frank Wren made a mistake by signing Lowe last off season, and made a worse mistake in trying to rectify it. This was not the move of a team that wants to win the world series, this wasn’t even the move of a team that wants to finish better than third in their division. This was plain and simple a move based off of money and nothing else. A move that makes me question whether I should support a franchise that isn’t trying to putting a winning team out on the field. It’s a shame that your putting out the company line on this story Mr. Bowman because it’s so clear to all the fans how awful this trade really was, and theirs no story or stat thats going to change that.

I have pulled for the Braves since 1957, through the horrible years of the 70s and the glory years of the 90s and early 00s. They sure make some strange trades. They gave up a lot of good prospects for Texiera and got little in return. Now, I believe they have traded the best pitcher on their staff in Vazquez. I guess I got spoiled in those years when Mr. Turner would spend the money to get and keep the strong players. I agree that salaries are ridiculous, but I would have preferred to ship Lowe with his big salary rather than Vazquez at considerable less. I doubt we will see the Braves back in control of the NL East, not with these owners and GM.

Would everyone get over Vazquez! My goodness…Yes he was great last year but I’d be devastated if it was Jurrjens or Hanson, the REAL Braves best pitchers. Also, Glaus has 2 seasons of being injured and as recently as 2008 hit 27 HR with 99 RBI’s, and that’s not bad considering Pujols was cleaning up everything before you came up the the plate. You guys are miserable fair weather fans. Shout at me all you want about how many years you’ve been a Braves fan but ready such none-sense and doom and gloom comments is ridiculous. Have we not learned form the Tex debacle? We traded good young players for Tex and everyone was “Horaaaay!” and now it’s the litmus test of how lopsided a trade can be. Yet, I keep hearing everyone clamor for Adrian Gonzalez, who would cost us more than what we got for Tex! Glaus is a stop gap for Freeman, that’s all it is. It’s only $2M for base plus incentives. BE REALISTIC!

Not a big Mark Bowman fan myself, Tommy, but in his defense MLB.com has these writers handcuffed. There are things they are not even aloud to write. They are mandated to put positive spins on anything involving the club.

Actually, Mark does do quite a bit of criticizing, but like me, enjoys looking at positive aspects of things. Cause.. you know.. this is a kid’s game played by adults and it’s FUN to watch and FUN to speculate about what the team is gonna do. If you’re just ********** all the time, I really feel sorry for you. Yeah, I would’ve loved to seen us not resign Diaz, sign Bay, have the rookie phenom have a ROTY season in right, trade for A Gon, get Micky Mantle as the batting coach and Sandy Koufax as the pitching coach. JUST CHILL THE F*CK OUT. Yeah, we have the weakest hitting OF probably in baseball, but Melky might end up as the backup OF if Heyward has a brilliant ST. Our “ace” last year is now our #4; the pitching staff is phenomenal. Glaus could be a bust, but he could also (since he’s playing for his 2011 contract) prove to be the biggest steal of the offseason, though i would’ve rather seen Nady at 1B. We have a pretty good team, and have to save most of the remaining money for the arbitration of some of the younger guys. This is supposed to be a fun outlet from the everyday monotony, not a forum for incessant complaining.

Would everyone get over Vazquez! My goodness…Yes he was great last year but I’d be devastated if it was Jurrjens or Hanson, the REAL Braves best pitchers. Also, Glaus has 2 seasons of being injured and as recently as 2008 hit 27 HR with 99 RBI’s, and that’s not bad considering Pujols was cleaning up everything before you came up the the plate. You guys are miserable fair weather fans. Shout at me all you want about how many years you’ve been a Braves fan but ready such none-sense and doom and gloom comments is ridiculous. Have we not learned form the Tex debacle? We traded good young players for Tex and everyone was “Horaaaay!” and now it’s the litmus test of how lopsided a trade can be. Yet, I keep hearing everyone clamor for Adrian Gonzalez, who would cost us more than what we got for Tex! Glaus is a stop gap for Freeman, that’s all it is. It’s only $2M for base plus incentives. BE REALISTIC! We couldn’t unload D. Lowe’s contract. Nobody wanted it. So Wren did the best deal he had available. Or do you think teams were lining up to give us a Ryan Braun in a deal? Get Real! Either we have the pieces in the farm to trade for anything else we may need in the future, or we have a very bright future with the prospects we have. And Quit bellyaching over Soriano trade! He and Gonzo have more health issues than the 2 guys we got to replace them. Everyone just take a step back and relax…Let’s see how the rest of the team shakes out. Step off the ledge and take a breath!

Seriously get over Vasquez guy has never had 2 good back-to-back seasons. As far as Glaus goes, he is the power hitter we have been looking for…..when he’s healthy. He’s right handed hits 25 plus bombs a year and drives in 90 plus.

Oh and if you think mlb.com puts “handcuffs” on their beat writers, go over to the Mets’ page and read Marty Noble’s work. He’s this hilarious curmudgeon who is at times super negative, but you can also tell he loves the Mets and praises the positives at any chance he gets.

People need to keep in mind who brought Vazquez to Atlanta in the first place. A deal many of the same critics of this deal more than likely lauded as ‘worthless.’

Frank Wren is doing a great job with this club. We have a complete team for 2010 and a stacked farm system for 2011 and beyond….just two years removed from a trade that wiped our minor league system clean of our highest-ceiling, most MLB-ready prospects.

Keep up the great work Wren! And thank you Bowman for offering great perspective on these recent Braves’ moves.

Wow… considering people are regarding last year as one of Lowe’s worst in the majors and JV’s best, it’s interesting that they were both 15-10. We still have Hanson, JJ and Hudson ahead of Lowe. He’s going to be the best frikking 4man in the league this year. Stop the complaining, honestly.

in response to efax, I wouldn’t be shocked either if Cabrera got flipped. Mark, do you think there’s any chance, though, that Diaz might be shopped leaving us with a Melky, McClouth, Heyward(Nady?) outfield? Merry Christmas!

It seems to me that many Braves fans are overreacting to the Vazquez trade. There were so many aspects to this one that need to taken into consideration. Was it partially about $$$? Yes. But the Braves got real value in this trade (Vizcaino) and they also got a useful outfielder in Cabrera. Unfortunately, we won’t know how good this trade was for several years which is just too long for many people.

Now the signing of Glaus might be good or might not. In my opinion, Glaus will probably be either good or unavailable which is better than having everyday suckiness from the likes of Jeff Francoeur. Glaus was certainly worth a $2 million flyer.

Lastly, Wren still isn’t done. He still have $7 million or so left from the Vazquez deal to go out and get another bat for the OF. So everyone (including Mark Bradley at the AJC) needs to calm down and see what else happens. Merry Christmas!

The Vazquez trade did not bother me, because I strongly believe Vizccaino has the chance to be a quality starting pitcher. If Vizcaino winds up becoming a key part of the Braves rotation for five or six years how many of you will miss Vazquez? Vazquez was great last year, but how many thought he was a big addition before the season began? Also, if the Yankees really wanted him the Braves, most likely, would have lost him after this year for nothing. This way, they get three players who have a chance to help them and one of them could be a huge part of their future.

The problem with these moves, however, is the Glaus signing. When I heard that the Braves were saving 9 million dollars in the trade I assumed that the money would be spent bringing in a hitter who could be counted on for production; instead, only two million dollars were spent to bring in a first baseman with almost no experience playing the position and a serious history of injury problems. Counting on Wagner, Saito, and Glaus all staying healthy and productive is a foollish bet. The remaining seven million dollars better be spent improving the team or else this package of moves is tough to figure. On paper next year’s team will have the poorest infield corner defense in the majors and the oldest, most injury-prone late-game releavers. With no guarantee of increased offensive production. That is not a good offseason. Oh, did I point out that the Braves also have no first-round pick in the draft?

My only concern with the Vasquez trade was the fact that it included Melky. He’s an overpriced 4th outfielder. People forget that the market has dropped in terms of what teams are willing to pay players. Also, a team trading for Vasquez knew they were only getting him for one year. Back to Melky– a healthy Schafer is better than Melky, and far cheaper. We have far too many fringe outfielders, and it didn’t make sense to take on 3 million to our payroll when, I thought, we were strapped for cash and trying to dump salary. And, if this news about the Glaus signing is correct, why did we need to dump Vasquez’s salary in order to make room for Glaus’s 2 million dollar salary?

We have a good bullpen, but 2 of the most important parts are very old. I like the Glaus signing. It’s a low cost/high upside signing, if he remains healthy. But that’s a big “if”. We also know Chipper will miss 40 games. We’ve basically replaced a bunch of parts with big (and old) question marks. The potential is there and I hope it works out, but I guess with Wren scrambling to drop payroll, I had assumed he was going to use all that money to do something a little bigger, or at least more guaranteed, and less geriatric/injury prone.
We went into last year with “hopes”. We “hoped” Francoeur would measure up and actually produce numbers worthy of a corner outfield spot. That failed and we suffered for half the season. We “hoped” Kelly Johnson would continue to play the way he did in September of 08′ and he crippled us for almost as long as Frenchy did. Etc., Etc. The Braves lack a dominant offensive weapon that we KNOW is going to produce (I don’t include McCann because of his struggles last year and because he’s going to miss every 5th game). However, we have plenty of offensive weapons that we “hope” are going to produce, “if” they can stay healthy.

The Vazquez trade did not bother me, because I strongly believe Vizccaino has the chance to be a quality starting pitcher. If Vizcaino winds up becoming a key part of the Braves rotation for five or six years how many of you will miss Vazquez? Vazquez was great last year, but how many thought he was a big addition before the season began? Also, if the Yankees really wanted him the Braves, most likely, would have lost him after this year for nothing. This way, they get three players who have a chance to help them and one of them could be a huge part of their future.

The problem with these moves, however, is the Glaus signing. When I heard that the Braves were saving 9 million dollars in the trade I assumed that the money would be spent bringing in a hitter who could be counted on for production; instead, only two million dollars were spent to bring in a first baseman with almost no experience playing the position and a serious history of injury problems. Counting on Wagner, Saito, and Glaus all staying healthy and productive is a foollish bet. The remaining seven million dollars better be spent improving the team or else this package of moves is tough to figure. On paper next year’s team will have the poorest infield corner defense in the majors and the oldest, most injury-prone late-game releavers. With no guarantee of increased offensive production. That is not a good offseason. Oh, did I point out that the Braves also have no first-round pick in the draft?

I love all these armchair GMs who are 100% confident that if only THEY were the GM, then they would be able to land Adrian Gonzalez, Albert Pujols, Matt Holliday, Jason Bay, Alex Rodriguez, and Tim Lincecum, etc. all while giving up worthless prospects and remaining in budget.

And people keep mentioning that, perhaps, Wren isn’t done and he’ll add another outfielder with some “pop”. The only way that’ll seem feasible is if we do it via a trade, getting rid of some of the abundance of bench outfielders that currently darken our roster.

I’m not too excited about having Melky in right and Glaus at 1B could bomb. But fortunately/unfortunately for the Braves, they’re kind of in a waiting period for 2011. We’ll have a lot of payroll to work with if things go according to plan. Schafer / Heyward in the OF, Freeman at 1B. That’s $5mil extra right there not to mention the $7mil we are about to save this year which will hopefully be allocated to ’11. That could lead to a huge bat. So we can’t really make any longterm commitments (LaRoche). Compared to the beginning of last year, we are a much improved team. If we get 25 HRs out of Glaus and stay away from injuries, we’ll give the Phils a run.

I think the Yankees dumping Melky was the price we had to pay for having the Yankees let us out of the barrel. Do you still think Lowe had any mystery takers??? We had to do this deal and taking on Melky was the price of admission. Now Glaus is gonna be a real interesting project. He seems to have Mike Hamptonitis. He came back from artroscopic surgery, then hurt his back and the strained his oblique. I think his conditioning and core strength is going to determine if he is worth the effort. Oh and you guys Glaus has a deal loaded with incentives, he will cost a lot more than $2M if he plays. Its going to be interesting to watch him at 1st, too. Might be worth the ticket price for its entertainment value. FW cracks me up though. He was all talking big yesterday about this batter deal coming up, and then TROY GLAUS!!!!!!! This is more like April fool’s than Xmas.

Viva, good point. The Braves of 11′ are where, I believe, it’ll get really interesting and, hopefully, really fun.

Billreef, yesterday you were complaining about the Vasquez trade and what a joke you thought it was, now you’re saying “we had to do this deal.” And if you had any reading comprehension whatsoever you would have noted that I said I didn’t have any idea as to whether or not the Braves had any takers on Lowe. My point was that neither did you. Also, you would have been able to comprehend that Bowman just confirmed that the Braves had a couple of teams offering to trade for Lowe, but that the price wasn’t desirable for the Braves, so Wren passed on them.

Vizcaino was a great pickup in return for Javy, and would’ve been as good as any 1st round draft pick that the Braves might’ve gotten had they offered Vasquez arbitration and been rejected.

Hello Losers,
Yankees still giving you a beat down even after two world championships in the 90’s.
Cabrera has bad character,got caught in a motel room on video with a porn star,dunn can’t find home plate even though he throws 95+ mph, and Vizcaino pulled a muscle in his back and they had to shut him down in a ball, a sign of future back trouble most likely…
We’ll take that stud Vazquez back and dominate the AL with our defense and hitting….
All I can say is Merry Christmas, Braves Fans…
HAHAHA
YANKEE POWERHOUSE 2010

Yeah I’m pretty sure Cashman wouldn’t give up Vizcaino without dumping Melky to the Braves so they could clear the way for Bay/Damon/whoever. And Wren probably negotiated that with upgrading from Logan to Dunn (Bobby obv never was comfortable w Logan), and the $500,000. I would much rather have this deal than pay $5-7 mil of Lowe’s contract for the next 3 years. He’s basically being paid about $3-4mil a year too much (pre 09). But he’ll be the best #4 in the national league. Stop whining. This is a good team.

I’m so sick of the short sightedness of Braves fans. Everyone wants us to mortgage the future and spend big. We aren’t the Yankee’s so get over it. Why would we go spend a lot when we have so much talent that’s on the cusp of the majors. And for you Wren haters, without the moves he’s made we wouldn’t have been talking playoffs in September this past season. He’s made some great moves and I believe he deserves a little latitude. No one wanted to see Javy go, but someone had to go and now we have further depth in an already bright and talented farm system. Yes we have some risks, but this team still has great pitching, more potential for offense, and a back end of a bullpen that could be more dominate than last year. The future looks bright and next year we will be in it! Go Braves!

‘Timbriz': You foolish Yankee fans are so damn stupid. You always see the forest for the trees. Despite having a payroll around $200 mil.- you don’t have enough depth in your system to compensate you if any of your prima-donnas get hurt. That’s not very wise, to have no solid contingency for all those ‘Stars.’ I hope you guys go through what the Mutts went through last year, that ought to humble anyone w/ a brain. Only the Yankees are stupid enough to pay between 11-12 million dollars for an old hack like Andy Petitte.

Don’t get me started on Joba Chamberlain, you water heads think he’s the second coming?! Gimme a break!! Tommy Hanson could out pitch Joba while sitting in a friggin’ wheelchair, & blindfolded!

Ross,Infante and a collection of minor leaguers off the bench
looks like a young, up and coming lineup outside of chipper who’s on the downhill side of his career.
not much power unless some of these develop some.
CABRERA replaces g. anderson…for cheap…
what are you whinning about …cabrera can play…

Wow, i’m glad to hear all of the gloom and doom. Doesn’t a fan of a team cheer the team on?? Take a look at the roster
C- Best hitting catcher in the NL
1B – unknown, high risk vs high reward, with a wealth of talent waiting in the wings in the minors
2B – Prado, offensive team MVP this year?
SS – Clutch, young, underpaid
3B – Leader, aging, but talented still
LF – A surprising leadoff hitter? Free swinger who mashes lefties
CF – Former all-star with plenty of potential
RF – A Yankee ship off, and possibly the most talented Braves outfielder since David Justice
– Let’s not forget about Infante, Schafer, and David Ross.
SP
Huddy
Jurrjens
Lowe
Hanson
Kawakami
RP
Dunn
Saito
Wagner
O’Flaherty
Chavez
Moylan

This team BARELY missed the playoffs… All I’m saying is, Don’t count them out before the season starts! As for our little Yankees fan, its very easy to have a stacked lineup with you have unlimited assests. Try being creative for once. Oh by the way, how did Javy do for you guys last time?

Hello Losers,
From what i’ve seen , and i haven’t folled the braves much lately, you can’t afford jack squat…
So, why sign lowe in the first place, if vazquez had another top year like this one, you couldn’t have resigned him anyway and you shouldn’t have signed mulder,period…
YANKEE POWER HOUSE 2010

Mulder? Are you talking about Hudson? And what is REALLY pathetic is that the Yanks didn’t even make the playoffs in 08 after spending about $80 million more than the Braves, yet had about the same record. I live in Brooklyn and Yankees fans are about the most obnoxious that you can find anywhere (Phils fans right behind). UHUHUH YEAH! YANKEES 2010!!! O’DOYLE RULES!!! SAN DIMAS HIGH SCHOOL FOOTBALL RULES!!!

Hello bluesman,
I mean dum dum,
Yanks just traded coke,(detroit)dunn,(braves)Vizcaino,(braves)kennedy,(arizona)cabrera,(braves)ohlendorf(pirates)
Dan McCutchen,(pirates)Jeff Karstens,(pirates)austin jackson,(detroit)tabata,(pirates),Jeff Marquez(white sox), Jhonny Nunez.(chicago white sox)in the past year and a half for nady(before the injury),marte,granderson,vazquez,swisher,etc.
Karstens,mccutchen,ohlendorf all pitched in the majors this year.
tabathia is a top prospect , just 21 years old.
coke and cabrera had full seasons with the yanks this year,and produced effectively.
kennedy, if fully recovered from anyourism surgery is a former number one pick with starter potential,he’s been held back by injuries and got rushed to the majors.he’s still just 24 though.
austin jackson is a baseball america top prospect.
dunn was a low draft pick converted to a pitcher,since he couldn’t hit and has potential with the right pitching coach.
Marquez (25) and Jhonny Nunez (24) who got a september callup are still young prospects for the chisox.

The yanks have aceves ,hughes, chamberlain,gaudin,mitre(majors),melancon,Albaladejo,Edwar Ramirez,McAllister,Kei Igawa,Jason Hirsh,Kevin Whelan among others with possible major league starter or reliever talent.

The problem is nobody will know how good they can possibly be until they get a chance and with the yanks, opportunity is usually scarce.

here’s a tip for wren,sign shelly duncan,he’s 30 but just hit 30 homers in triple a and won the international league mvp and can play the of and if.
yanks let him go as a 6 year minor leaguer fa. he’d fit into the braves cheap mode.
or trade for juan miranda in triple a , he’s got some pop and plays first , yanks really have no place for him.
YANKEE POWERHOUSE 2010

Yeah viva you left out one thing. The J*ckasses from the bronx are defending WC. The Braves pay plenty of money, they just don’t spend it well, ask the Marlins and TB who do it for about a third of what we spend. I’m sick of listening to the crybabies talking about how we don’t have the money to spend or how Liberty is cutting us short. ATL is in the top third in salaries and can’t whine about lack of funds.

D@mn bill.. you still sh*t on your fellow fans and team even while arguing yankees vs braves. That’s pretty low in my book. The Marlins and TB had great draft picks for years and weren’t they given some priority in the draft because they were expansion teams? Then Florida would dump all their good players after the WS for prospects, and after another couple years of sucking, they would be contenders again.
If the Braves had the extra $100 MILLION that the Yankees have RIGHT NOW, we would’ve kept Vazquez, sent Kawakami to the pen, signed Bay, traded McLouth, signed Holliday, and hoped Heyward could play CF. Then we would’ve gotten LaRoche at 1B. Maybe trade Prado for a leadoff hitting 2B. Then we would have by far the best rotation/lineup in baseball. And by only spending about $50mil in the process. Lowe’s contract is really the only screwup. And that’s only by about $3-4 million a year, since last offseason he would’ve been a steal at $11m a year.
Seriously man.. I think you need to find another team or another hobby because this is just making you a bitter, miserable person. I mean.. I criticize things a lot but you don’t seem to derive any enjoyment from anything but complaining.

Hello speedy,
And all you other dreamers..
lets look at this great pitching rotation you supposedly have here….
hudson
Kenshin Kawakami
hanson
Jair Jurrjens
lowe

First off hanson has had one year experience and as it is with any young player the jury is still out as to how things pan out in the future,including health wise.
They were crazy to give hudson three years at 9 million a pop , plus…
He’s under gone a serious arm injury and been off over a year…
The yanks could have resigned wang who’s coming off a long term arm injury for probably 4 million for one year in arbitration, but non-tendered him,even though they may try to resign him…
9 million is just nuts even for 1 year,unless it was an incentive based contract..
WANG WAS BETTER THAN HUDSON IN 2006 AND 2007 IN THE TOUGHER AL,PLUS HE’S YOUNGER.
HUDSON HAS TO PROVE HE’S BACK TO A GREAT PITCHER OVER A YEAR BEFORE THEY STARTED TO HAND OUT 9 MILLION DOLLAR MULTI YEAR CONTRACTS.
THE DIFFERENCE IS HUDSON SUPPOSEDLY WILL BE READY FOR SPEING TRAINING AND WANG MAYBE JUNE OR LATER.

Kawakami is 34
HAD A MEDIOCRE YEAR MUCH LIKE MOST OF THE JAPANESE PITCHERS…
I WOULDN’T COUNT ON HIM FOR MUCH…
LOWE IS 36, HE’S A GOOD VETERAN PITCHER WITH ALOT OF INNINGS UNDER HIS BELT, AND IT’S LIKELY HE’LL REBOUND,ESPECIALLY IN THE NL….
BUT THAT CONTRACT WAS ALSO NUTS, TWO YEARS TOPS WOULD HAVE BEEN MORE IN ORDER..
IF HEALTHY HE’S A GOOD PITCHER
NOW, Jurrjens, HE’S YOUR BEST AND HAS A BRIGHT FUTURE…

BUT YOU GUYS WOULD BE IN DEEP TROUBLE IF YOU HAD TO FACE THE YANKEES ROTATION IN A SEVEN GAME SERIES, NOT THAT YOU HAVE MUCH OF A CHANCE OF THAT BECOMEING REALITY…
YANKEE POWER HOUSE 2010

Bowman, have the Braves reduced payroll. Before the Vasquez trade we were sitting at $87m after all the arb figures had been estimated and with all our new additions. We then free’d up about $9mil after trading Vasquez for Melky. So even after the Glaus addition and even if he meets all incentives we should be around $84-85 mil, but everyone is saying that the Braves are done making major moves. Why would we sit on about $10mil when you could add someone like Derosa who can play a corner OF, backup every position other than Yunel in the infield? Or is that just not considered a major addition? Please explain…

“Send Bobby Cox out in style! If you spend money on the Braves, so will we!” I like this idea. I am going to http://www.libertymedia.com RIGHT NOW and sending them this msg, (you click on the “contact us” tab and scroll down to send the msg). I WANT EVERYONE ON THIS BLOG TO COPY AND PASTE THE ABOVE MSG, THEN SEND IT TO LIBERTY MEDIA.COM. PLEASE JOIN IN!!!!!!! Put “Atlanta Braves” under the section entitled “company.”

I find it interesting how Matt Diaz gets no respect here. The single most important stat that can be used to predict run production is OBP. You gotta get on before you can score. Matt Diaz tied for 25th of all players last year with at least 350 plate appearances. Check out the names of those above him on the list if you doubt the value of this stat. Of those only 7 (count em 7) outfielders had a better OBP than Diaz at .390. Yet many of you “experts” are llokiong ahead for the day when you have an outfield without Matt. Where the Braves need more production is at first base and not just power. Again look at the top OBP leaders. TEn of the top 25 are firstbasemen including Pujols, Helton, Youkilis, Fielder,Gonzalez, Cabrera, Berkman, Lee, Votto, and N. Johnson. You want more offense, get one of these guys and elevate Diaz to the leadoff spot. It was no coincidence that the Braves best last season was when Diaz batted leadoff.

Diaz gets plenty of love in these chats. He’s great. Diaz, unfortunately, hasn’t gotten the opportunity to play everyday, which is surprising considering we stuck with Francoeur for so long. Even after Francoeur was traded, Diaz was often used in a platoon role. He’s not great against RHP, but he’s not awful either (OPS ~.750), certainly not Curtis-Granderson-vs.-LHP-awful, or Jeff-Francoeur-vs.-RHP-awful. It’ll be interesting to see how he’s used this year.

Diaz is great. But one of your corner outfielders needs to be a slugger. 20+ HR, 90+ RBI, etc. That is what our RF needs to be. Melky puts up basically the same numbers as Church, so hopefully he’ll just be the backup OF. Hopefully the gamble with Glaus works out. He can play 3B when Chipper is out of the lineup, and we can shift Prado to 1B.

Bill, I GET your posts. The Marlins and TB use their incredible farm system which was stacked from finishing last for a long time. And when their players became too big for their Florida britches, they would dump them all for future superstars (ahem..Vizcaino..). The Braves spend well and the only bad contract they have at the moment is Lowe. And that’s really only overspending by $3-4 mil. It’s not like the whole $15mil is a waste. How do they spend unwisely? I don’t get it. We have one of the best rotations and bullpens in the NL. Offense has been shaky, but that’s because some of our guys didn’t produce like they should’ve (Kelly, Frenchy, Kotchman), and their heir apparents aren’t ready quite yet. Chipper has a large contract, but that’s understandable. He’s a franchise legend and won the batting title a year ago. Kawakami is arguably the best #5 in the NL. Was that a bad deal? We could’ve resigned Andruw before his disastrous stint w the Dodgers. That seemed like a smart move. I think that Hudson will have a good/great year, but if he doesn’t everyone will be asking for Wren’s head saying that we should’ve just not resigned him and kept the rotation as is. Are the Braves supposed to be psychics and sign everyone cheap on off years who they know will have a brilliant comeback? I’ve said it before, but Glaus could be a bust or the biggest steal of the offseason. 30 HRs for $2 mil. Or 3 HR for $2 mil. I know that we’re spoiled from finishing first every year and now the fans are in a “what have you done for me lately” mode, but have some faith in the players we have, because it’s a good team.

I appreciate your love of team and the Braves and wish you a Merry Christmas. But (you knew you weren’t gonna get off that easy) I really disagree that none of the signings were unwise. We went into last year coming off a diastrous injury plagued season and needed to get a bit younger with the starting rotation. Our other desperate need was for a power hitting RH bat. We only accomplished one of those goals. We spent so much on pitching that we didn’t have anything left to get a bat. It bit us like a snake in the grass. If there was a weakness in our team last year it was an inability to score runs consistently. Blame it on Frenchy, blame it on Chipper’s off year but the bottom line was there were just too many weak links in that line up. We were 5 games back of the phils when frenchy left we were 7 back when the season ended. The reason was we spent ALL of our money on pitchers. Now, one could say, this is a Braves and BC tradition, but in the light of day it doesn’t work unless you are signing HOF pitchers. You don’t get to do that every year. You need balance. The phils and the Yankees had mediocre staffs last year. Look at where they were in October. St Louis and LA probably best staffs in the postseason. CO, stats don’t count there. Boston was 16th in ERA and Minnesota was 23rd. I mean to hang on to a philosophy that worked with Doggie, Smoltzie and Glavine is past stubborn. During some of those years Doggies ERA was 2 runs under everybody else. . I mean thats not dominating that SICK. You COULD bat 8 Kelly Johnsons and still win. Smoltz was the most dominating postseason pitcher ever. We can’t do that now. We have to get better hitting the ball. We need run producers and we can’t keep paying our number 4-5 pitchers 15 million and 6 million. It’s that simple. It makes all those deals bad. If we had spent 13.5 million on Holliday where would we have been at the end of last season? I mean Bobby Abreu went for $5M we couldn’t even afford that. This is the context I look at those deals in and yes it makes Lowe and KK look like really bad deals.

I would feel more at ease if the Braves would have received Swisher instead of Cabrera. I have a hard time making sense of the thought that a 19 year old pitcher is the center piece of this trade. There are plenty of good young arms in the minors so it would be great to receive young pitching if it’s needed. Another issue the Braves fail to address is who will be playing third in the near future. There are no legit prospects on the farm. Maybe a little more patience was needed in moving Vazquez. This has been a trend lately with the dumping of Tex and Frenchy. IWe have received nothing in return for an all star first baseman and a former top pick. That is poor management. I would have prefered the draft picks over what we received from the Angels. And Jeff’s issues, were they magnified by playing in Atlanta or by the fact the Braves had no hitting coach capible of helping the kid out? There seems to be a sense that Wren must prove himself to JS by making deals. Getting the right players is what this team needs, not a GM trying to impress the boss. Keep in mind Peavy was almost a Brave. What a nightmare that would have been. We all agree it’s hard to see Vazquez leave but Lowe will pitch better in 2010. He won’t have the pressure of being a #1 starter and hopefully his mechanics have been fine tuned. The same issues as last year remain, no true leadoff hitter and no right handed power. Glaus, what a reach. I could have seen an improvement if the Braves would have aquired Swisher and maybe gone after Gomes or Nady. Right now I hope we sign DeRosa because we all know Chipper will only play in about 110 games and Glaus probably less. So once again we will need a first baseman. I’m also a Wagner fan but I don’t see the logic in signing 2 40 year olds and watching Soriano and Gonzalez walk for just a little more money, and the same contract length. Oh yeah we were going to get draft picks. Well last I checked we lost our first rounder and gained a sandwich pick. Man we can’t win this off season. Goes back to my earlier comment, Wren, stop trying to impress the boss. The fans deserve to see a good team on the field, not panic fill in’s.

I can’t believe I’m about to say this, but I completely agree with Billreef. The adage that “pitching wins championships” played out in the early-mid 90’s… but you HAVE to score runs to win in this era. Allowing only 3-4 runs per game is great… but if you’re only scoring 2-3, then you’ll never win. Wren did a great job in getting Vasquez and Lowe. However, locking up Kawakami long term to all that money is what’s hounding all of the money we could be spending on a legitimate bat to protect Chipper and hit in front of McCann. We have completely neglected our offense and we’re praying that Heyward (a 20 year old) will be the answer among a cast of gappers, .270 hitters, and 15-20 homer guys. Somehow we need to keep up with the Phils and Mets… and I don’t see that happening with our lineup, REGARDLESS of how great our pitching could be.
Merry Christmas to all on here… except the Yankees idiot.

Well, I definately agree baseball isn’t a pitching game anymore. I feel that the same comparison can be made to the NFL. Offense is what fans want to see and that’s what the rules have adjusted to accomodate. The days of Glavine and Maddux expanding the strike zone are over. Umpires are graded now, and a 2-1 game is usually boring to the average fans. If we see a bunch of 1 run games, then all people say is “well they are not on steroids anymore”. Baseball is going to do anything that they can to continue to have big boppers. My only Christmas wish is that we didn’t just save at least $10mil to pick up Troy Glaus only……. There has to be something else in the works. Otherwise, I am going to find myself in utter disappointment. I think Wren is kidding himself if he counts Troy Glaus as a big bat. Yes the guy has the history of a big bat. But resting our cleanup position to a guy that was hurt more than Chipper during last season is not what I want to see. Chipper, please get on the phone to your boy De-Ro and hopefully he will accept a contract to come here. He won’t be the answer, but at least I feel like he will be more productive than Glaus. Our only two hopes for this season are the Heyward is at least half the hitter that he is toughted to be and the Glaus hacks the ball half as good as he used to a couple of years ago. While I would love to see Glaus, it is not as much of a sure things as other bats out there. I don’t even understand why we traded Javy if we were just going to sign Glaus for $2mil. We could have sent some other guys packing for that deal. I tend to be optomistic, and will continue to be. But i am not a big fan of putting all of our faith on a rookie, a injured vet, and Melky Cabrera. I thought that last season Wren corrected our biggest problem. But now, it looks like he has decreased our strength while not correcting our biggest problem. Again, I hope he’s not done with that extra money we have sitting around. Might as well use it on something. If the money is there, it makes no sense not to try something else. But with an outfield of McLouth, Diaz, Cabrera, Schafer, and Heyward I can’t help but think that one of the guys other than Heyward may be in a different uniform next season.

With a payroll thats projected to be in the mid 90’s why dont we have one legitamite threat in the lineup? The Braves seem to be overpaying for construction site leftovers to build this team. I do not like banking the season on whats in the farm, old relievers, and guys coming off injury filled seasons… Remember Heyward didnt make it thru the entire fall ball season due to injury….

Has anyone noticed that pitchers flourish in Atlanta and position players tend to suffer at times. DeRosa was given an every day job in Atlanta and it did not work out. Remember Jermaine Dye? He was not the same player when he was in Atlanta. JF? Yeah, he was a different player in Atlanta than NY. Certain players do play well in Atlanta, (Laroache,Tex, Diaz), but many struggle. I don’t have a problem with the contract they gave to D Lowe. Yes, they overpaid – but they were desparate after it did not work out with Peavy or Burnett. Honestly, I had a bigger problem with GA last year. Not only was he only a 270 hitter with limited power for a corner OF, but he drew no walks, his defense and speed cost the Braves on several occassions. Keep one mind all the fans that are not sold on Glaus – he does draw walks and certainly hussles more than GA. GA needs to be a DH. GA’s OBP was 303 last year, while Glaus has career OBP of 360 – huge difference.

I think Heyward is ready for the majors and Melky can back-up everybody else. Melky can fill in for Nate and Diaz to keep them fresh. Heyward needs to play every day.

LOL. I’m joining in the fray as if any of our opinions really matter. The professional game is all about money, or else they wouldn’t call it professional.

I like the trades they made, because they demonstrate effort to work the budget to have options. (sometimes for better or worse).

I’ve been a native and fan and will continue to be so long as they are the Atlanta Braves. Atlanta is one of the worst for fan support. Argue if you want, but facts are facts.

Lowe has nowhere but an upside coming. Glaus has nowhere but an upside. Chipper certainly wants to go out on top. These guys are aging, but they’re affordable and I wish Wren and team all the luck.

Right now, most everything in the world is going to crap. The game suffered through the depression, it’s America’s sport, not soccer. Cherish it. I believe that Wren & Co. will try to maneuver a little more to set Bobby C. up for his final hurrah.

acziffer-
I am going to have to disagree. You have given some examples of players who have not flourished in Atlanta, but look at your examples. De-Ro (that was a long time ago and since he has become a more complete player, and before that he was an excellent part time player like Infante). Dye (he was shipped out only because of our outfield depth at the time, he didn’t even have time to do anything in atlanta other than hit a HR in his first AB). Frenchy (he did excellent his first couple of years and then fell off the map as his aggressive nature seemed to spell his doom in Atl). The reason we got GA last year was because we spent so much on Lowe. At the time, I don’t think that there were any other affordable (remember GA was dirt cheap) experienced veteran OF bats. Hey, with that situation we knew we weren’t getting a sleek OF. I mean, come on, the guy strained his calf jogging and was out for a month before he even started the season. I am left wondering about this offseason because our main focus was to fill our offensive void and bullpen. While Wren has probably done that via Wagner and Saito (although they are both aging), I do not feel he has done it with Glaus and Cabrera. We traded away one of our best pitchers from last season to save $9 or so. And we go out and spend $2mil on a bat. Is that budget management? I don’t agree.
I can’t help but think that after Glaus passes his physical that Wren may have left the extra money to make a move closer/during spring training. Hopefully let’s think he’s going to evaluate the older guys he signed physically and see how they might pan out. I wouldn’t be surprised to see a move made if any of those guys come to camp with nagging injury problems. And just remember, everyone on this board (except for probably the Yanks guy) is a Braves fan. Arguments and disagreements are had because the guys care about the product. If no one cared on here, then no one would comment.

The Braves are reacting [by salary dumping] to last year [overspending on FA]. Vazquez was tradeable, Lowe was not. Kawakami was not.
Vasquez refused to go to LAA, so Rivera deal was never going anywhere. Management didn’t want to wait.

While Vizcaino has promise as does Dunn, the Vasquez trade is nothing but a seller move [ a CY candidate for prospects and part timers similar to Minny to Mets and Santana], since there is no guarantee or future MLB success let alone immediate return. Further, loss of veteran pitching leadership for Hanson [who needs a changeup] and Jurrgens [who doesn’t] and Medlen [ needs many things], while keeping a pitcher who now has organizational disdain [Lowe] means a bigger burden for Hudson as staff ace and leader of the youth movement.
Hope…a seller move.

Looking up at a probable 100 Win Phils team, a Mets team that will win 10 more games just because of injury returnees alone, an improved Nationals and little change in Marlins teams, the Braves already would find Wins harder to get in 2010. Now they definitely will.

Management has realized the future is not 2010 but beyond, is trying to cut losses, and rebuild with younger cheaper prospects and castoffs. Not a bad way to do it, but call this what it is…SELLING
…the Braves are sellers this year in the hope of contending in 2011 and beyond, and there’s no other way to look at it.

DRTANNIN.. Trading one high priced pitcher to fill 2 organizational needs (to an extent), is not the actions of a “seller.” Just because Wren didn’t want to give one of the very few available 1B a multi-year contract because we have a great prospect in the wings, doesn’t mean that they’ve given up. Far from it. LaRoche wanted a 3 year deal, and notoriously sucks during the first half of the season.

Pitching still wins. At least in the postseason and NL. Every team that was in a pennant or wild card race in 09 were above league average in ERA, except for our altitudinally challenged friends in Colorado. I keep saying this but no one seems to listen.. our offense was GOOD in the second half. And the only reason we finished 7 games back is that the team fell apart after we were eliminated.. we had won 15 out of 17.. PRETTY IMPRESSIVE. and then totally ran out of steam after elimination, getting swept in 4 games by the Nationals. We finished above average in many offensive categories, others marred by almost no production at CF, RF, 2B, and a month with no McCann.
As for having a lineup with no “ifs”.. Only the NY Yankees and their payroll can enter the season with that reassurance. Teams that spend around $100mil a season have to take risks. A lot of you guys are gonna be really bummed out for a long while until you get used to this. The question marks, to me, are a lot of the fun.

Once again the blogs are long on opinions and very short on facts. Of the teams that scored at least 800 runs last year (7 teams did) all except the Phils were in the top 7 OBP leaders and all except the Rays made it to the post season. (could not jump over Bos and NYY).

The moves made by Wren have been to unload players who had low OBP including about 25% of the at bats from the 2009 team that nearly made it to the playoffs despite the weight of these stones. JF,KJ,GA, and prized rookie Schaffer had more than 1,70 abs between them and all were around .300 OBP or lower.

I still wonder at the people that think that JS will develop into a big time OF. If the Braves continue to add people who are adept at getting on base and shedding those that don’t their run production will rise WITHOUT the need for that big bat that everyone seems to pinning for. Look at the Minnesota Twins.

Why is OBP so important? Because the weakest part of every major league pitching staff is middle relief. By getting on base and running pitch counts up early in the game you get to the middle relief pitchers and run scoring goes UP!

It is my belief that addition by subtraction will yield more runs this year and more wins. Braves make it to the playoffs. And for all of you worrying about Glaus’ durability, don’t forget that Infante only had 203 ab’s last year. When Chipper or Glaus can;t start then Infante more than keeps the OBP up.

Also, consider that Glaus and Diaz balance the lineup against LHP meaning the Braves should see more RHP straters which will be great for BM, NM, and MC or potentially JH (aka the franchise)

Glaus is a bit unknown, but I have a good feelling about him. I don’t think he should be slated as an “injury prone” player because he was out for one year. If you review his history, you will see that he is not injury prone. Plus, he is 4 years younger than GA and Chipper so I don’t view him on the decline just yet. The changes to the bullpen are a bit difficult to comprehend. I think when Wren learned Scott Boras was involved, he deemed it best just to move on. Keep in mind, Soriano was traded (after the Wagner signing) so he obviously wanted to stay.
Finally, I really want to see Heyward on the opening day roster. Diaz, McClouth and Melky pose no 30 Hr threats and that does not cut it when the Philles have 6 guys that will hit 30. Go Braves!!!

Why did we not sign a good bat to come off the bench? I mean someone like Craig Counsell or Juan Uribe. We sign Glaus and then go after a bench bat or two. We need to head into ST with an outfield of Cabrera in left, Mclouth in center, and Diaz in right. When May rolls around, bring up Heyward, and send Diaz to left and Cabrera to platoon with Heyward while he’s learning the pitchers.

Why did we not sign a good bat to come off the bench? I mean someone like Craig Counsell or Juan Uribe. We sign Glaus and then go after a bench bat or two. We need to head into ST with an outfield of Cabrera in left, Mclouth in center, and Diaz in right. When May rolls around, bring up Heyward, and send Diaz to left and Cabrera to platoon with Heyward while he’s learning the pitchers.

It’s obvious the Bowman is hiding from responding to his ridiculous supporting of these terrible moves.

I suggest that everyone here go to the ajc.com website and read Mark Bowman’s two articles about the Vazquez trade and Glaus signing. He tells is like it is!! It’s refreshing and he speaks nothing but THE TRUTH!!!

VIVABETA.” Trading one high priced pitcher to fill 2 organizational needs (to an extent), is not the actions of a “seller.” ”
—
I’m not sure the players received are ” organizational needs.” Not unless 1B and OF power bat are ignored.They received nothing of proven value.

Freeman is not ready and Heyward won’t be up until June since he is a Super 2 candidate, as management has already stated in other words ” he’ll be in AAA to start”.

If you look carefully, the Atlanta Braves lineup now is the least imposing in the NL East.

By selling Vasquez below market value, the Braves are IN FACT sellers. Getting Glaus is a risk… forgetting the fact he’ll be playing a position he has not played, on a staff that will be getting more GB than K’s. Further, in 4 of the last 7 years he has

Conversely, everyone else in the division will win more than in 2009. The Mets have 2 or 3 stars back. The Phils have 2 aces. The Nationals are improved if only still a .500 team. So where’s the wild card coming from?

Braves ARE sellers for 2010, and have

But they are better positioned for 2011 and the better FA market that will be available.

I agree the Braves are trying to save money and cut costs, but trading one player is not selling. Ask the Marlins how to sell a team. . . . I don’t really want to sign Adam LaRoche to a 3 year deal worth $30mil. He’s not worth that much and everyone knows it (evidented by the fact that he still doesn’t have a team). And to be honest, I’m not sure who else the Braves could get for 1B other than Nady (who is also coming of surgery). Now that I look at it, this might not be such a bad idea to sign Glaus. But he’s not the answer, just a creative cog to the team. I’ve also seen some comments of trying to pick up Uggla… Not sure how I’ll feel about this, maybe they want to move Prado to first and put Uggla at second?? Heck if all else fails and Schafer comes to camp a new guy with a healthy wrist, maybe he can play left and Diaz could get a look at 1B.
As for the bench, the Braves picked up a couple of guys for minor league contracts that could pay some dividends (can’t be worse than Norton). I would assume that letting KJ go could be a sign of Brooks Conrad getting a better look at the big league club. I wonder if there has ever been any thought of using David Ross on a more consistent basis, possibly at 1st. The guy swings a good bat considering he only sees live pitching every 5-6 days. Infante is always great, and I’m going to assume Diory will get a look as a defensive replacement.
I think that the Braves have a good cell of talent, but it looks like they are going to have to get creative at 1B unless they have something else cooked up. Could just be a matchup deal LH v. RH to try and give the Braves a little more protection vs LHP.

The Braves are IN FACT not sellers. If you knew what this term meant in regards to baseball, I doubt you would be accusing them of it. If the Braves were SELLERS they would be dumping everyone of worth on the team. A la the Marlins, the Pirates, etc. Once again, the Braves had one of the best offenses in the NL after the second half last year. And one of the best pitching staffs. The lineup is about the same except for 1B. LaRoche is usually AWFUL during the first half. EVERY YEAR this happens. Just because we didn’t want to sign a 1B or RF to a 3 year big money contract because we have the youth movement on the way doesn’t mean we’re sellers. Glaus is a STOP GAP and Bobby really wanted him on the team.

The thing that is easy to forget (it’s almost human nature to have short-term memories) is that our offense will experience an “addition by subtraction” when compared to the first half of last year, when the Braves struggled. Francoeur, KJ, Schafer all struggled mightily over that time (or, in Frenchy’s case, the struggles lasted much, much longer). Schafer, it turns out, was battling an injury. In any case, the Braves will open 10′ with Prado at 2nd, Diaz/Heyward in RF, and McLouth in CF, all of whom will do much more than their respective counterparts did from the beginning of last season. Not to mention Anderson—anyone we put in LF, with youth on their side, will save as many runs as GA produced last year by virtue of their defense.

Good post bobbycox… I agree with you. Just because you don’t pick up the best FA doesn’t mean that you won’t improve. Look at the Rockies and Rays from recent memory. Also, don’t forget, the Yankees dynasty started with some highly young kids named Jeter and Posada, some “washed up veterans” in O’Neil and Brosus. Not to mention unprovens such as Mariano Rivera, Bernie Williams, and Andy Pettite. You can’t build a team buy buying one now-a-days unless you have a $200mil budget. You have to be creative. Now, do I completely agree with Wren so far, no. But the job is not complete as of yet, and sometimes you have to figure players make the difference. Was Wren suppossed to have forseen the decline of Chipper, Francoeur, Kelly Johnson. Was he suppossed to see the Brian McCann eye problems or the Derek Lowe mechanical flaws. Now I’m sure most of these comments whill make most of you start to criticize the coaches, but just remember Wren’s job is to put the most talented team possible on the field, not the most expensive. Do we have more surgery scars than years of service on the field, maybe. But hopefully we picked up alot of dependable used toyota’s instead of totaled Kia’s. If Wren’s gambling (which all MLB teams do) pass off, he will be regarded as a genius. If not, we may not do as well as hoped. Like the saying goes “that’s why they play the games”.

Forget about Uggla,we could sign a bat with out losing prospects.We still need another bat ,Troy Glaus isn’t gonna save our a$e$ ,plus Chipper showed signs of getting worse this year (Hopefully he can bounce back).And if he has an even worser year that wouldn’t help the Braves out.I say we need to take our chances on Nady and put him in LF .He has great potential of hitting 20+ homers .Melky Cabrera is a great clutch hitter but I wouldn’t start him as an every day hitter,only in clutch situations or when some 1 needs a day off.Plus I can’t wait to see what Jason Heyward can do for us ,he probably needs some more seasoning before being called up ..Hopefully Mitch Jones can improve and make the team.He needs to lower them strike outs a little bit if you’re gonna play in the Majors.He’d be a great bench guy ,him and Milk man.I’m SO GLAD we don’t have that horrible Greg Norton on our team.He couldn’t hit a ball to save his life ,finally took out the trash.Lets just hope that Wren made the right choice by signing these old guys (Wagner and Saito) and no 1 gets injured.We need a healthy Chipper and Glaus for sure if they are gonna put up big numbers (which I don’t think is gonna happen but who knows).Anyway our line up could be 1.McLouth 2.Prado 3.Chipper.4.Glaus 5.McCann 6.Escobar 7.Nady 8.Diaz/Cabrera/Heyward 9.Pitcher………..It wouldn’t be a bad idea of putting Diaz at the leadoff spot because he does hustle down the line ,but he doesn’t have speed like McLouth .If Chipper doesn’t do better then he did last season then he should retire and become manager of the Braves and take Cox’s spot.I would vote him manager anyday.Go Braves !!!!!!

Forget about Uggla,we could sign a bat without losing prospects.We still need another bat ,Troy Glaus isn’t gonna save our a$e$ ,plus Chipper showed signs of getting worse this year (Hopefully he can bounce back).And if he has an even worser year that wouldn’t help the Braves out.I say we need to take our chances on Nady and put him in LF .He has great potential of hitting 20+ homers .Melky Cabrera is a great clutch hitter but I wouldn’t start him as an every day hitter,only in clutch situations or when some 1 needs a day off.Plus I can’t wait to see what Jason Heyward can do for us ,he probably needs some more seasoning before being called up ..Hopefully Mitch Jones can improve and make the team.He needs to lower them strike outs a little bit if you’re gonna play in the Majors.He’d be a great bench guy ,him and Milk man.I’m SO GLAD we don’t have that horrible Greg Norton on our team.He couldn’t hit a ball to save his life ,finally took out the trash.Lets just hope that Wren made the right choice by signing these old guys (Wagner and Saito) and no 1 gets injured.We need a healthy Chipper and Glaus for sure if they are gonna put up big numbers (which I don’t think is gonna happen but who knows).Anyway our line up could be 1.McLouth 2.Prado 3.Chipper.4.Glaus 5.McCann 6.Escobar 7.Nady 8.Diaz/Cabrera/Heyward 9.Pitcher………..It wouldn’t be a bad idea of putting Diaz at the leadoff spot because he does hustle down the line ,but he doesn’t have speed like McLouth .If Chipper doesn’t do better then he did last season then he should retire and become manager of the Braves and take Cox’s spot.I would vote him manager anyday.Go Braves !!!!!!

The Braves have sold more than they received for the short term.=SELLER
Now, certainly the goal of giving younger players a shot is terrific, but
…Diaz will have to learn to hit righties
…McLouth has to change the direction of his numbers since 2007.
…Prado and Escobar are unsung [I like them a lot] but must continue course.
…Glaus needs to rebound [4 of last 7 years
…Heyward is a super 2; forget 2 months of potential production; Freeman isn’t close to ready [

…Jurrgens is coming off a career year. Lowe is on the downside of his. Hudson is a good #2 but no ace
…Hanson [I like him] needs to find a changeup; lefties hit him -see PHIL; NYM
…bullpen you tell me; no spring chickens

The Braves may have hit well 2nd half, but a lot was LaRoche. Besides, the whole year counts.

I like the Braves potential longer term…a lot…but so far the only notable move is losing a pitcher w CY numbers…

Hot Stove season isn’t over, but I don’t see the Braves doing better in 2010 w/o a lot of good luck or career years.

How do you consider losing Free Agents selling? Would you pay Adam LaRoche $30 mil that he is seeking with Freeman in the wings. I’m hoping you put Anderson and Church up there just to give a complete list (Although you forgot KJ who was non-tendered as was Church). Also, would you pay Gonzo what he got from the O’s? Would you pay Soriano who is not the most dependable guy in the world physical (but does have great stuff when on)? Tell me where the crazy logic is here. We got Saito (former closer), Billy Wagner (showed how healthy he is in Boston, plus add some), Cabrera (a switch hitting platoon outfielder), Glaus (being paid less that KJ was with alot more upside). So please tell me how that is the seller attitude. Now if we trade Escobar, Prado, Chipper, and McCann then I’ll call us sellers. Lowe had a bad season, everybody knows it. Don’t expect the same out of a sinkerballer. He didn’t show a decrease in movement or velocity. He reportedly has corrected his mechanics and should be perfectly fine next year. So here is your lineup as it stands now (in my mind).
SP
1. Huddy (please explain to me how Huddy isn’t a #1, being our ace before injury and a former CY winner, if anything he’ll be better than last year as arm strength increases post tommy john, so expect more velocity and sharpness this year)
2. Jurrjens (two solid years in a row, the guy is become a PITCHER, if you ask me, he PITCHED better than anyone on the team last year).
3. Hanson (are you really going to question a rookie who dominated just about every game he pitched in)
4. Lowe (Not bad for a #4 if you ask me, innings eater, needs good defense to be effective)
5. Kawakami (Could easily be a 3 or 4 for most teams, has great passion, seems to be getting a hang on american hitters. Remember who outdueled Dice-K and Halladay last season).
Bullpen
Wagner – Proven closer, has shown no ill effects of surgery
Saito – older, now quite as dominant as past, but knows how to get people out
Moylan – shown great strength and effectiveness all year
Medlen – probably better suited as a starter but this kid has great stuff
O’Flarety – great situational pitcher last season
Dunn – Hard throwing lefty to help above out with left situations
Plenty of live young arms, and some old (Proctor) that could round out the pen

In the Field
C- McCann (solid catcher, calls a good game, great hitter)
C – David Ross, fantastic backup catcher, wish he could get some more ABs
1B – Glaus (as of now, if passes physical should be ok, not bad for the price, but not sure if he is the power answer)
2B – Prado (great 2nd half two seasons ago, great season last season, don’t forget he was alot of the reason for the great Braves hitting too, not just LaRoche)
SS – Escobar (great clutch hitter, maturing more everyday, also another reason for the Braves increased 2nd half hitting)
3B – Chipper (really needs to have a solid season offensively and defensively)
INF – Infante (can play anywhere, anytime. . .and can contribute effectively)
OF – Diaz (did great in the leadoff spot, hustles, free-swinger who can go on red-hot tears)
OF – McLouth (speed, power, needs to quit pressing, would probably benefit from a drop in the order)
OF – Melky Cabrera (switch hitter, can play any OF spot, decent arm, young)
OF – Jordan Schafer (the guy wasn’t the best prospect on the farm for a while for nothing, the kid has alot of potential, we will finally see how much the wrist played in last season’s decline)
OF – Jason Heyward (the golden child, we will see soon what he has to offer

So, I see older guys, younger guys, former All-Stars and Award Winners, unproven guys, and some guys with alot of scars. I’m pretty sure that describes most of the teams in MLB. Do they have a big bat yet, no. Do they have kids with alot of potential, yes. Do they have a chance for a bust with a few guys, yes. Could Chipper be on his downside, yes, could it of been just a bad year, yes. So, please, please tell me how you can call this selling just because that they got rid of a guy who will be making $11mil and we probably wouldn’t have resigned anyways.

I have compiled OPS and WHIP from our opening day roster from Philly last season, and my projected lineup for 2010. If you ask me, i am more comfortable than i was in 09. Granted, I don’t believe our lineup will match with the likes of the Phils and Mets, but that’s why we have to have strong pitching again.

It’s really interesting to see the shift in opinion on Lowe. Its gone like this:

1) Stubborn denial that anything was wrong with Lowe all the way through the end of last year. Even he admits that he stunk up the joint for the last half of the season. It’s funny how none of his last year’s defenders are talking much now.
2) Abject insistence that Lowe and his horrific contract be moved. Then the Vazquez deal happens and the realization dawns that Lowe couldn’t be moved at any price for anyone. NOT ONE TAKER!!!
3) Now we’re back to Lowe the “innings eater” who will be just fine. He will bounce back, he’s corrected his mechanical flaws, he’s not that old, Last year was an aberration.

oh, and speedy, it’s kind of interesting how half the team as you list it is “great”. You need some reality glasses. I’m not saying the glass is half empty, but for the second year in a row, we have not suceeded in one of our primary offseason goals. NO RH’ed Power Bat!!! Not unless you count Glaus who is a total crap shoot. Three injurys last year, 29 AB’s and his problems with his back end the careers of many Big men.

THE AL BETTER HOPE THE YANKS DON’T GET THIS GUY’S HEALTH AND PITCHING MECHANICS STRAIGHTENED OUT, OTHERWISE HE’LL BE ANOTHER STARTING PITCHER IN HOUSE TO DEAL WITH….HE LOOKED LIKE HE WAS GETTING BACK ON TRACK LATE LAST YEAR AT TRIPLE A…http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jason_Hirsh

1. Why is this Yankees idiot still posting here? No one is reading. No one cares. You’re really just wasting more and more of your life by typing out that crap.
2. Bill.. I’m sure there were teams that wanted Lowe, but it would be stupid to pay half of his salary for 3 years and not get much in return. The folly that is his contract has been WELL DOCUMENTED HERE. I like Lowe and sure I’d rather have Javy, but I also would rather have Huddy over Javy.
And does your piss and vinegar attitude know no bounds? Most of the fans here actually want the team to win and enjoy talking about the positives, not to come here and try to figure out why and how the team is going to suck next year. It’s fun to postulate how Glaus, Wagner, Lowe, Saito, etc will do next year, but what do you get from assuming they’re gonna be bad when they’re all good players? This isn’t the Pirates we’re talking about. And what “RH power bat” should we get? Trade for someone to play 1B that will block Freeman or maybe someone to play RF to block Heyward? Give up too much in trade for a 1 year rental? The precarious position is that yeah we’re a much better team in 2011 with Heyward AND Freeman, who we will have for cheap (to whatshisname, this doesn’t make us “sellers”), so Wren has to work around this happy problem. I’m sure Nady wants a multi-year deal. DeRosa just signed a 2 year deal. $30mil/3 years for LaRoche is RIDICULOUS (maybe $6 a year with incentives if he doesn’t totally blow in the first half).
You can’t stand McLouth for some reason, but I think he’s a pretty d*mn good LF/CF. The weakest links are Prado and Diaz, and they’re still great players. Uggla at 2B would be interesting, though he plays awful defense. We’re not getting A-Gon, Holliday, or Bay. I just don’t see where this power bat is coming from.

Since we traded Vazquez because we resigned Hudson, you could look at the deal with the Yanks like this:
Yankees get: Vazquez, Logan
Braves get: Tim Hudson, Melky, Viscaino, Dunn, $500k
With about $9m more to spend now, it doesn’t look bad at all.

viva, AKA moron on crack,
you’re clueless,
the braves signed lowe to a long term contract and he has a mediocre year,partly because the braves can’t hit the broad side of a barn, and can’t field any better than a girl’s softball team, and now they are whinning like babies that he’s paid too much and he’s over the hill…and looking for a taker…
and now you babble on about how you’d rather have hudson over javy when he was off for a year or better…you must have read the post otherwise you wouldn’t be babbling on about it…. as far as the braves not being sellers as you claim, you’re living in fantasy land, the braves would rid themselves of anybody making over 3 million in a heart beat…even chipper….they sign these high dollar pitchers because they simply can’t do any better via trades or fa or farm system enough to fill a 5 man rotation and bullpen,because they “THINK” the players coming up through their farm system are the greatest thing since ice cream and won’t part with them in trades, because their logic is they can get by alot cheaper by useing farm hands …
the reality of that is the braves didn’t win a world series,nor even played in one in this decade about to end,with no end in sight…here you are at the end of a decade and none of their supposedly great farm hands are still with the club outside chipper,that was there in 2000…
………………………………………………………………………….
this link shows the 99 braves stats , chipper is the only player still with the club

Wow, Tim so contrived are the words you just sold. why are you even looking at the braves blog? its not like we are in the same division or even the same league. you must be bored of the yankees having too much money and just buying out the market? or could it be that you got chased away from the yankees forum and now need to vent on other teams sites….time to grow up peter pan!
at the same time, you talk about the braves selling all thier talent but, have you ever asked yourself why the yankees are always buying big league ready players? if the yankees had such a good farm system, why do they, year after year, go after new players at the cost of thier own farm system? it seems at times that they just buy players trying to avoid other division rivals from aquiring them.
anyway, tim try and stay loyal for more than a season and go back to your yankees blog…..before you get traded.

Wow, Tim so contrived are the words you just sold. why are you even looking at the braves blog? its not like we are in the same division or even the same league. you must be bored of the yankees having too much money and just buying out the market? or could it be that you got chased away from the yankees forum and now need to vent on other teams sites….time to grow up peter pan!
at the same time, you talk about the braves selling all thier talent but, have you ever asked yourself why the yankees are always buying big league ready players? if the yankees had such a good farm system, why do they, year after year, go after new players at the cost of thier own farm system? it seems at times that they just buy players trying to avoid other division rivals from aquiring them.
anyway, tim try and stay loyal for more than a season and go back to your yankees blog…..before you get traded.

Billreef stated, “the realization dawns that Lowe couldn’t be moved at any price for anyone.”

Billreef, one of your problems is the inability to comprehend and analyze anyone’s opinion other than your own. It’s like it would send you into a system overload and crash. It’s just too much.

You state your opinions and rarely substantiate them. Others will counter your opinions, substantiate them, or even provide you links to places that substantiate them, and….still, you bring back the same arguments.

Now, back to your aforementioned comment….If you had comprehended Mark’s column (you know, the one under which you are currently posting), you would’ve understood that the Braves had found “a couple of potential suitors and each of these clubs wanted them to eat about half of the $45 million the veteran sinkerballer is owed over the next three years.” This price wasn’t to the Braves liking, so they pursued other avenues.

So, no that realization never dawned on me that Lowe couldn’t be moved at “any price for anyone” because, as Mark has already stated, that simply isn’t true.

billreef-
Find the part of my post that reads “great”. I put last years opening day lineup, and this year’s POSSIBLE starting lineup on opening day (assuming dealing is done for the winter). Please, tell me where I am overassuming anything. And by the way, those numbers i posted included an awful year from Chipper, and blind season my B Mac, and a starting pitcher coming off of Tommy John who only pitched limited ball last season. I didn’t list Glaus’ ’09 numbers just because there really wasn’t enough data to post a significant stat. So, please, correct anything i put up there instead of just being the house grouch that never likes anything. Heck, with your way of thinking you will be p*ssed if we give away too many prospects to get a big bat that you keep complaining about.

Dylan,
The yankees don’t run their organization like the braves, the work to put the best 25 man team on the field every year, they want major league ready talent ,not borderline triple a / major league talent on the field like the braves.
They also help find major league jobs for alot of players that they feel are border line major league like bruney,ian kennedy,etc. or have more years of seasoning,such as tabata,austin jackson etc….
You can’t put every single player with border line major talent on the field out of triple a or let them waste away as ‘depth’ they have a system pumping out talent from the lower minors every year anyway.
They have chamberlain,hughes, cervelli,posada,jeter,cano,aceves,rivera,pettitte,robertson,pena,gardner on their 25 man roster now and just traded coke and cabrera off last years team….
But any fool knows they’d rather have a-rod, teixiera,sathathia etc. than a border line major leaguer on their team….or one that needs two years working at the major league level before they are productive…
it doesn’t always pan out but they have been in the playoffs ever year except one in ten years and won two championships in this decade..
They play to win , not supply major league seasoning for farm hands..
But then they see things aren’t panning out and they go sign lowe etc. that doesn’t pan out.
Good luck with your mediocre team…

Dylan,
The braves couldn’t beat the yankees with maddux,glavine,smoltz,millwood,neagle/avery mullholland in their prime…
Good luck beating them with your rotation now on the roster..
maybe bring back wohlers,might help…

Tim,
tell us how you really feel? why are you even posting on a team’s blog that you hate so much? i get the feeling that you were once a braves fan until they started losing. are you the kind of fan that supports the best team at the moment? were you a yankees or a braves fan in the 90’s?

I’m glad to see bay go to the nl , he hit the yankees well…
plus it weakens the red sox…
I used to live near atlanta back in the early 80’s when ted turner owned the club and torre was the manager and dale murphy , phil neikro and bob horner were around..
i caught a few games in the old stadium, so i’m familiar with them…..
they were an exciting team back then…

BobbyCox- My statement that Lowe had no takers was metaphorical. Kinda like if someone offered you a dollar for your car, would you think you had a buyer? Both the trade of Vazquez and MB’s article demonstrate the obvious. There were NO legitmate takers for a Lowe trade. Your just upset that I read the cards right and knew that a Lowe deal was dead in the water and you objected saying that because “Billreef didn’t know of a pending deal with Lowe, doesn’t mean one doesn’t exist”. If I recall that was 2 days before they gave up on a Lowe deal and traded Javy. Guess I was right, huh?

Now to my dear friend Viva:
I am not here to spew “piss and vinegar” but I have problems with the way Wren operates and who he goes after. There are a ton of players that I like on the Braves:

Prado- I’ve always backed his promotion and it looks like that was a good call.
Escobar- I was appalled that he was in the attempt to land Peavy. He will be an impact player for years.
McCann- Easy to love.
Diaz- The best OBP on the team, and had the same number of HR’s and RBI’s as GA with 120 less AB. He has defensive issues but never dogs it and ALWAYS hustles. Why he ever sits is a mystery to me.
Medlen- Tough kid. I like.
Moylan- the “thunder down under” great set up guy.
Huddy- One of the best athletes on the team. He will excel this year.
JJ and Hanson- great young talents.
Shafer- This kid will wow them somewhere
Conrad, Infante, Blanco- Solid backups

The reason I don’t really like McLouth is:
1) He plays a defensive position and he isn’t that great defensively. Limited range, weak arm, doesn’t dive for anything.
2) career .260 hitter, avg 20 HR and 66 RBI’s for 162. Doesn’t hit in clutch. What’s so special?
3) He might have trade value now but with his numbers and failure to improve(after 5 years) he will never be more valuable.
4) he is like so many of FW’s acquisitions, ok, but not really that special.

As to the Big Bat. My pick would have been Derosa. He loves ATL. Knows the players and even with a 2 year deal, with his versatility he wouldn’t have to block anyone. His salary was affordable, even with our blown budget.

It is always heartwarming to know that I evoke an enthusiastic debate on trades, players and and management. Thank you guys for participating.

Billreef, your idea of the “big bat” that the Braves needed this offseason is Mark DeRosa? Wow. Don’t get me wrong, I love him. But his OPS last year was .752. He’s is a great complimentary guy, and he’s versatile. But a “big bat”? Troy Glaus will make 1/3 what DeRosa will this year and has a potential/upside far greater than DeRosa. As far as McLouth is concerned…I will not argue about his defense. It’s not anything to be envied, to say the least. But offensively, you’re complaining about our CF only averaging 20 home runs. Seriously? Only 3 CF’s, if I counted correctly, in the NL had more home runs than Nate did last year. True, you’d prefer your centerfielder to have stellar defense. But his offense is more than ample at his position, and at 4.5 million this year his offensive contribution is a bargain. Only 4 centerfielders in the NL were valued higher than McLouth last year, taking both batting and fielding in consideration (http://www.fangraphs.com/leaders.aspx?pos=cf&stats=bat&lg=nl&qual=y&type=6&season=2009&month=0). And as far as your assessment that he’s “ok, but not really that special.” There isn’t a team in MLB that has something “special” at every single position, including the Yankees. The key is to have solid contributors, not detractors (like Francoeur or KJ) darkening your lineup day in and day out.

Billreef, look at my discriptions of “great” and dispute any of them. McCann – great hitter, Prado – great 2nd half hitter last season, Escobar – great clutch hitter. How is that not a correct statement? I’ll pleasantly dispute you on any of those.

speedy, I just found two more “greats” in that post that you said, didn’t say great. I think there were about 7 of them. Now you say, what, I DID say great but it was justified? You say O’Flaherty was great????? I guess great means something completely different to me. And you think Kawakami has “great passion”? Have you been sneaking by Kenshin’s house again?

I agree with Billreef on McLouth. Terrible defender, bad range, no arm. Tweener, bad hitter for average, his power in 2008 was an illusion, and he becomes allergic to walks at times. I don’t mind him for the time being, but pretty soon he’s going to be a lot less valuable than his contract. There’s a reason he was never a prospect, drafted in the 25th round, and it took the Pirates (not just any team, the Pirates. If any team has any business handing a player like him a job it’s them) 8 years to hand him an every-day job. That’s because he’s probably not good enough to be playing every day. The Braves are probably going to keep him and play him every day because, well, who else are they going to throw out there? But I’ll be rather angry if Bobby continues to bat him 1st and give him the most PA’s of anyone on the team.
List of people I’d rather watch hit lead-off than Nate McLouth:
1) Matt Diaz
2) Yunel Escobar
3) Martin Prado
4) Chipper Jones
5) Brian McCann
6) Jason Heyward
7) Troy Glaus
8) Kelly Johnson
9) Greg Norton
10) Mike Jacobs

Wow – after reading all of the comments on this post, I’d say about 80% of them have lowered my IQ. Where has the intelligent conversation gone?

This blog needs a good Rother, PWHjort, Vivabeta, Jurjjens4… conversation to mend the train wreck that is this post.

I don’t have a problem with Nate McClouth, but I agree he has no business being in the lead off spot… except for the fact that he has RIDICULOUS successful stolen base ratio. I like him and Escobar down in the order.

The team has been in dire need of a led off hitter and a legit cleanup hitter for years now, and the organization has done NOTHING to rectify that. I consider that a failure and we will finish second in the division until we address those needs. You need the get on base and score to win games… and pitching will never accomplish those objectives.

I still like our team, and I think we will win 90 games. unfortunately, the Phillies will win 105 and we’ll have to battle with the Mets, and Fish for the wild card.

Wow, Peter, I don’t know what to say.
I’m glad we can start the new year on a high note. And your list of replacement lead off hitters was hysterical, I was thinking fondly of Brian McCann beating out a left side of the infield bunt for an infield hit. I think the guy who really needs to get a shot is Jordan Schafer. He may have made a mistake by not complaing more about his injury last year, but I can hardly fault him. He was coming off his suspension year, had a great spring(again) and really wanted to contribute to the big club with great D, speed and a really pretty hitting stroke. I’d rather have a kid in there who wants so desperately to contribute that he is willing to place team above an injury that ultimately required surgery. Now I will confess, I want to see how he progresses in ST from the layoff and injury, but I think that he should be given every opportunity to compete for CF and leadoff. I have watched this guy play since he was in the minors and I truly believe he is an amazing young talent. Apparently the team thought the same when yanking him up after a non- traditional minor league ascent. He has shown flashes of real brilliance and I tend to believe that that is the real JS, rather the injured kid who played last year.

Now here is my proposed outfield. Melky spells anyone in the outfield and takes half of Diaz’s bats against righties. Mclouth plays right (Melky subs here too). Schafer plays CF and gives us a legitimate leadoff guy. Since we aren’t getting a big bat (again). This is the best I can imagine.

Guys, what does a guy need to be to be a legit leadoff hitter? I’m not sure we have ever actually defined that here.

Let’s talk about Schafer. He struck out at a rate K/ AB (.377) higher than every batter in the game not named Reynolds (.386) or Chris Davis (.384), and he was significantly closer to Davis and Reynolds, than he was to notably hard to strike out guys like Adam Dunn (.324) and Ryan Howard (.302). Talk of “Yah, but he walks a lot” can be deferred by the reality that his walks ended as soon as the league figured out he couldn’t catch up to an average fastball. I’m hoping/praying that his wrist was the only reason this was so, otherwise he will never be a Major League ballplayer. Also, the kid that showed up in Gwinnett last summer was not even close to ready to contribute on the Major League level, mentally or physically. He did not listen, he did not pay attention to the games, he did not care if he was there or not. The coaches made jokes about him, THE COACHES!!!! The players (experienced major leaguers, not AAA hang arounds) rolled their eyes and used terms like “whatever” when even asked about him. It would be an act of utter desperation to see him in Atlanta when they come north this summer. Jason Heyward is mentally older and more mature now than Jordan Schafer will ever be. Schafer is a knucklehead, plain and simple. Let’s hope this changes and he is again a part of the Braves future nucleus as he does have some physical gifts.

McLouth in a perfect world would end up platooning in left with Diaz, but this is not likely to happen without another trade, or the emergence of both Cabrera and Heyward as legit stars.

On the FA market, I don’t see anyone I would pay more than $5 million/yr at either OF or 1B. That being said, I would be interested in giving Vlad Guerrero a look if he fell to this price range. Hank Blaylock is still out there and a versatile player with some pop. I don’t think Nady is coming to Atlanta if the post surgery version doesn’t have the same pop, and he can’t throw yet, but still wants a multiyear deal. Other than that, it looks like only trades are left.

Defensively the Braves don’t have anyone in their every day line up that would be considered an above average fielder, so they are going to have to score some runs.

Billreef, what do you see left on the FA market that looks interesting, and at what price? When I looked I just didn’t see that much. Also, if the Braves go the trade route, and all of the legit power guys are sitting on fat 2006-7 era contracts, how do the Braves go about getting the other team to eat some money and not getting an impossible to move player like Casey Kotchman stuck in the deal?

I would consider taking a flyer on a guy like BJ Upton if the asking price was reasonable. He is the quintessential “tip of the iceberg” type guy, and he could fill a couple needs with his defense and speed.

bravomania,
‘Wow – after reading all of the comments on this post, I’d say about 80% of them have lowered my IQ. Where has the intelligent conversation gone?’
if your IQ was lowered anymore it would be in the negative
range… barely above viva status….

Hey, I’m looking forward to a Braves resurgence, but reality will need to match hype for 2010.

W 2011 and beyond given the youthful talent accumulated and continuing to gain experience, the chances are far better to reach playoffs.

Also, to think Bay is nothing but an asset to NY is foolish. His career numbers are stellar, and he is reaching near the peak of his match of age and experience. The lineup is imposing. He is a great character guy; his feeling is clearly sufficient – [and LF matters least anyway]; and Citi is you look at the numbers is hardly the pitcher’s park it is thought to be.

If the Mets acquire Sheets, Bedard or another number 2 type who can perform simply as expected, the Braves are no better than 3rd in the division and wild card is not even an issue.

timbrizen – I think the major contributor to the drop in my IQ is from reading all the grammatical errors in all your posts. … a 5th grade education maybe? It’s ok – I expect nothing more from Yankee fans.
Rother – Schafer was an easier out than Franceour last year and you’re right, he could not catch up to a major league fastball. I definitely hope it’s the wrist and not his ability.
Diaz has done nothing other than prove that he deserves to play every day,and I think he would still be a .300 hitter if he played regularly. Defensively he leaves little to be desired, but he’s a gamer. A blue-collar player. He’s great for the team. The players love him and the the city loves him. He and Escobar have been CLUTCH the last two years and I always feel good when they are in a pressure position and we need a hit. It drove me CRAZY to see him on the bench, while players like Kotchman, Kelly Johnson, Franceour, and Schafer were seeing everyday roles. Our lineup would have been so much more productive in the first half with both he and Prado in the lineup instead of those OBP/OPS nightmares.

Timber, how did Hanson do without a changeup when he faced the YankMes and Botox last season, in the first 5 starts of his career?

For the record, there are no people on this blog who care even a little bit about the Yankees lineup, or who that bunch of Metrosexuals is dating. Why did you decide to enlighten us with all of this bile from the cesspool that is NY City anyway? Was it a trade for Melky Cabrera? Really? I liken your involvement in this blog to feeding a stray cat. We are sorry if we accidentally left out a bowl of milk for you. I know that the American League team from New York doesn’t seem to have an MLB blog, and certainly nobody of the status of Mark Bowman to read, but maybe you should measure your private parts with some American League teams fans, say the Angels or Red Sox.

Nice one rother. I live in FL. We have to deal with those idiots about half the year. You can always tell the guy from NY at the beach, He’s the one with the greasy hair, gold chains, wifebeater T and the black shoes and socks.

I really think the Braves need to give Heyward a shot or pick someone up. An OF of Diaz, Cabrera, and McClouth does not have enough pop to make a difference. Chipper may give you 20 at this point at most and I don’t expect too much more from Glaus so they need at least one big bopper in the OF. Heyward could be this person and I hope the Schaefer disappointments don’t impact 2010 decisions. Remember, Schaefer was not healty!!!

Happy new year Braves Fans. Yankee fans, we appreciate your comments as well. I guess since the Giants season fell apart, you have more time available.

BILLREEF,
YOU CAN ALWAYS SPOT A BRAVES FAN BY THE WAR PAINT ON THEIR FACE, THE THOMAHAWK UP THIER ***,THE FAKE PONY TAILS ON BOTH SIDES OF THEIR HEAD,THE HEAD FULL OF FEATHERS AND WILD BILL HICKOCK JACKET ON AND EATING TWO BUFFALO BURGERS WHILE RIDEING A PAINT HORSE UP TO THE STADIUM PARKING LOT.

It’s disappointing to realize your favorite team can’t compete financially with baseball’s upper tier. I mean, we really couldn’t afford to pay a Cy Finalist 11 million? By constantly scrounging for pennies, it always seems like we’re building a team for a couple of years down the road, not right now.

Not sure any of this is Wren’s fault, it’s the financial hand he’s been dealt. So all of you haters, hate on the ownership, not Wren.

You know the local girls down here in FL have a interesting complaint about the NY boys. They say that when they Yank those pants down on the beach, they have a really difficult time finding those little NY pe ckers. As a matter of fact, the NY girls that come down here say the same thing about their home boys, Thats why they keep “coming” back to FL. Go figure.

FLORIDA? you mean the state famous for leading the nation in florclosures because people sit around getting drunk on the beaches all day…..where they lead the nation in medicare fraud and registered sex offenders and they been going into people’s farms and stealing horses….among other great accomplishments…the state where you have to spend most of your life at home depot buying plywood to prevent hurricanes from destroying your house, where the alligators/crocks visit you in your back yard,or maybe miami now run by cubans etc. where everybody is armed and the ghetto is in full force….
that the florida you talking about…

YOU MUST BE A MEMBER OF ONE OF THOSE BIKER GANGS THAT SHOW UP IN DAYTONA BEACH ONCE A YEAR AND SPEND THE REST OF THE YEAR HANGING OUT AT GAY BARS IN A POSSE OF 50 ACTING LIKE MACHO MEN….SIMILAR TO THE VILLIAGE PEOPLE

Tim, it appears that you have lost your gold chains. I am sure that the “villiage” people would decry your lack of education and want you to to return to your job at the deli. You might even want to try to get a job playing harmonica at subway stations. Please Mark, post again, and get rid of this little boy who wants to talk to men.

Reading over some earlier comments….Correct me if I’m wrong, but I was under the impression that Schafer had turned the page and, beginning last spring training, had really impressed people as to how much he had improved his work ethic and overall professionalism.

Note to Braves fans on what to do when a Yankees fan enters our blog: It is important to remember that Yankees fans are much closer to our simian cousins than fully evolved humans. This is well documented in the bioanthropological literature, but even the untrained eye will note their tendency to have hairier arms and backs and their penchant for communicating in guttural sounds rather than words. It does no good to respond to their comments with humor or sarcasm because their underdeveloped cerebral cortices leave them ironically challenged. Responding with aggression or insult also does no good, as aggression is their native language, and in their simple-minded way of thinking, as long as they get in the last word they believe they have won the argument even if their comments make no sense at all. The best thing to do is ignore them and continue our conversation as if they were not present. Eventually they will get frustrated and return to more elementary blogs closer to their own reading level?ones with more pictures and fewer and smaller words. Attempting to engage them in dialogue will only increase the risk of being led into the kind of racist, homophobic and inhumane language that has recently reared its ugly head here.

DRFILL,
That’s a nice perspective from a high school dropout, pretending to be a college idiot…
Funny you should say that since I watched 60 minutes tonight and they had a woman who had lived with/beside a herd of african elephants for the last 20 years studying their sounds and habits etc. ,,,
And all i could think of was the similarities between them and braves fans….
How ironic…

And before you go insulting me and my academic career, Tim, I’m an English teacher, so I know what I’m talking about. That’s just not what ironic means.

In response to bobbycox (a fellow Braves fan whom I will address with respect), I also was under that impression about Schafer. I just don’t know if he’s ever going to be able to break through with the Braves. I hope so though. The first game I ever watched with my daughter (on TV, not live – I’m in Toronto) was the first game of the year when he hit a homerun in his firts at-bat. I really had high hopes for him, and still do.

UH DUM DUM,
A.K.A. DRFILL/BRAVENORTH,
IRONIC = IT WAS IRONIC THAT YOU MENTIONED ‘Yankees fans are much closer to our simian cousins’ (ETC.,ETC.)WHEN I WAS THINKING THAT BRAVES FANS WERE SIMILAR TO ELEPHANT EVOLUTION, AS IN : GRUNTING,SQUEALING,HANGING OUT IN HERDS,DRINKING ALL THE TIME AND BASICALLY MAKING ALOT OF USELESS NOISES ALL DAY LONG…

……WHILE TRYING TO CONVINCE EVERY OTHER ‘ANIMAL’ IN THE JUNGLE HOW SUPERIOR THEY ARE IN STRENGTH,INTELLIGENCE,ETC.ETC. TRYING TO MAKE OTHER ANIMALS IN THE JUNGLE FEAR THEIR MIGHTY POWER….WHEN IN REALITY, THEY ARE JUST LIKE EVERY OTHER ‘ANIMAL’ IN THE JUNGLE,THEY JUST WALK AROUND, BABBLING ALL DAY LONG,EATING AND DUMPING A PILE ALL OVER THE PLACE,,,,,,,,
HOW IRONIC THAT BRAVES FANS ARE SO SIMILAR TO THAT SCENARIO….

BRAVES MISERY FOR THE YEAR 2010…
YANKEES SIGN GARRET ANDERSON TO A ONE MILLION DOLLAR CONTRACT IN FEBRUARY AND HE WINS THE STARTING LF JOB IN SPRING TRAINING AND GOES ON TO HIT .340 WITH 40 HRS AND 140 RBIS WHILE WINNING THE AMERICAN LEAGUE MVP,GOLD GLOVE,ALCS MVP AND WORLD SERIES MVP,LEADING THE YANKEES TO THEIR 28TH CHAMPIONSHIP,WHILE BRAVES LF’ERS HIT A COMBINED .220,WITH 5 HRS AND 37 RBIS,WHILE COMMITING 18 ERRORS IN THE OUTFIELD.
UPON THE END OF THE 2010 WORLD SERIES, SEVERAL BRAVES EXECUTIVES , BRAVES MEDIA AND HUNDREDS OF BRAVES FANS ACROSS THE COUNTRY,TURN TO DAILY ALCOHOL INTAKE TO DROWN THEIR SORROWS AND END UP LIVING IN TENTS,HOMELESS AND IN DISPAIR…

I bring up Schafer because, assuming the Braves are finished adding parts to the outfield, I would really like to see Schafer back in CF at some point next season. McLouth in LF, Heyward in RF, with Diaz spelling for McLouth in LF against lefties, and Cabrera spelling for Heyward against tougher lefties (until he’s fully aclimated). We all know how much Bobby likes to use the platoon.

Braves should consider signing Carlos Delgado. Backup in case Glaus is needed elsewhere, and a great Left handed pinch hitter with power that we need on the bench. Could sign him for a song now. I remember how many big hits he got against us.

Anyone heard if the Wren is done adding players for this season? We saved some money off of the Vasquez deal, so I would make sense to invest that into another bat if we have the opportunity. However, I’m not sure what is left out there in the Free Agent market. Wonder if there is a possible trade in their near future…

I think If I was work a trade the way the team stands now it would be a 1B/3B/Bench bat. With Glaus and Chipper playing the corners I expect a lot of AB’s for a player like that. It was one of the reasons I was so high on Derosa. I agree a lot with Bobbycox’s outfield. We dont always agree, but those comments were spot on. We need Heyward straight out of ST. And it would really be great for our pitching staff if Schafer was roaming CF. The entire outfield would be defensively upgraded with that alignment.

LET ME GUESS, THE BRAVES JERKOFFS MADE NO ATTEMPT TO SIGN DUNCAN AFTER I TOLD YOU WHAT TO DO A WEEK EARLIER….

Shelley Duncan, Austin Kearns sign with the Indians
Tue Jan 05,2010 11:51 AM ET By Craig Calcaterra
Shelley Duncan would have probably been a nice addition to any number of teams last year, but he had the misfortune of being one of the few — the Yankees — that had absolutely no use for him. So he ended up sitting in Scranton last season, where he hit 30 homers.

Now he’s going to a team — the Indians — who could definitely use an inexpensive outfielder with some pop. The terms of the deal weren’t disclosed, but it’s likely a minor league deal.

Duncan hasn’t shown much in the majors — .219/.290/.411 in 163 plate appearances — but In nine minor league seasons, he’s a career .258/.345/.479 hitter with 170 home runs and 599 RBIs in 905 games. Last year his AAA OBP was .370. Smart pickup by Cleveland.

The Tribe also signed former Red and Nat Austin Kearns as, shockingly, the Nats didn’t want to exercise his $10 million option. Back in the day I took all kinds of heat for being the only blogger on the planet to defend the Reds for trading him to the Nats. Now who’s laughing?

Well, not me, because Gary Majewski sucked too, but I think it’s fair to say that the Reds got more out of Billy Bray and will get more out of Daryl Thompson than the Nats ever got out of Kearns and Lopez.

And we care none about any of that Tim because this is a Braves Blog read by Braves fans who want to read about Braves news. Not Reds, Nats, Yankees, Red or White Sox or any of the rest of the AL. If your a Yankee fan, whatever floats your boat, but let put this in words of one syllable or less so you can understand: WE DON’T CARE. WE DON’T CARE, WE DON’T CARE, WE DON’T CARE what you have to say.

jim,
you morons,also known as braves fans, have been babbling about outfielders for a month now, basically because you don’t know which one to play,even though they have 4 or 5 to choose from, because, basically, none have any power, or they can’t field or they’re too youngor two old, or can’t field, blah, blah….
but they had a chance to sign a guy for next to nothing who can jack the ball out of the park and they sit on their hands starring in outer space….
all i can say is…
THAT’S HOW ‘LOSERS’ RUN AN ORGANIZATION..

UH DRFILL,
A.K.A. IDIOT NUMERO UNO ON THE TOTEM POLE….
IF YOU WILL LOOK ON THE POST I MADE ABOUT DUNCAN YOU WILL SEE IT WAS POSTED WITH THIS ON THE 4TH LINE……
‘Tue Jan 05,2010 11:51 AM ET By Craig Calcaterra’
LET ME SPELL THIS OUT TO YOU GENIUS ..
HE WAS GIVEN FULL CREDIT AS THE AUTHOR OF THE NEWS ARTICLE ……
NOW, HERE’S THE DEFINITION OF ‘plagiarized’
………………………………………………………………………
Plagiarism, as defined in the 1995 Random House Compact Unabridged Dictionary, is the “use or close imitation of the language and thoughts of another author and the representation of them as one’s own original work.”[1] Within academia, plagiarism by students, professors, or researchers is considered academic dishonesty or academic fraud and offenders are subject to academic censure, up to and including expulsion. In journalism, plagiarism is considered a breach of journalistic ethics, and reporters caught plagiarizing typically face disciplinary measures ranging from suspension to termination of employment. Some individuals caught plagiarizing in academic or journalistic contexts claim that they plagiarized unintentionally, by failing to include quotations or give the appropriate citation. While plagiarism in scholarship and journalism has a centuries-old history, the development of the Internet, where articles appear as electronic text, has made the physical act of copying the work of others much easier.

Plagiarism is not the same as copyright infringement. While both terms may apply to a particular act, they are different transgressions. Copyright infringement is a violation of the rights of a copyright holder, when material protected by copyright is used without consent. On the other hand, plagiarism is concerned with the unearned increment to the plagiarizing author’s reputation that is achieved through false claims of authorship.
…………………………………………………………………………
I CERTAINLY FEEL YOU DEFINATELY NEED TO GO BACK TO WHATEVER COMMUNITY COLLEGE ROCK YOU CRAWLED OUT FROM UNDER AND TAKE A FEW MORE COURSES BEFORE YOU MAKE STATEMENTS YOU ARE OBVIOUSLY CLUELESS ABOUT…..
BECAUSE OBVIOUSLY, Craig Calcaterra WAS GIVEN FULL CREDIT FOR HIS WORK AND NO EFFORTS WERE MADE ON MY PART IN THE LEAST TO TAKE CREDIT FOR IT…
IT WAS USED FOR INFORMATION PuRPOSES…..
not to mention that i’m not a journalist to begin with …..
and lastly as far as copyright infringement goes , no profit was made off of the post,it it is readily linked to by millions and since the author receives no monetary gain by each article, just like bowman , other than what his company pays him, then he has no case…
and lastly, did i fail to mention you’re an idiot

Eric Hinske Signs With Braves
By Mark Polishuk [January 5 at 9:40pm CST]
Scott Miller of CBSSports.com is reporting that Atlanta has signed veteran utilityman Eric Hinske to a one-year contract, pending a physical.

……………………………………..
ha,ha BRAVES SIGN ANOTHER EX=YANKEES OUTFIELDER/INFIELDER….
HE ISN’T THE GREATEST OUTFIELDER ON DEFENSE, SO THAT’LL GIVE YOU ANOTHER GUY TO FIT INTO YOUR GOOD HIT, NO FIELD ,WHEN’S HE GONNA PLAY, MODE..HE’S NOTHING SPECIAL AT THIRD BASE DEFENSE EITHER…

WHY HINSKE WOULD WANT TO SIGN WITH THE BRAVES AND THAT MESSED UP OUTFIELD SITUATION IS A MYSTERY TO ME , HE SIGNED WITH THE PIRATES LAST OFF SEASON SO HE COULD GET PLAYING TIME AND THAT DIDN’T PAN OUT,I DOUBT THAT WILL HAPPEN WITH THE BRAVES,AT LEAST DUNCAN COULD HAVE HAD A CHANCE TO START, I DOUBT HE’LL START WITH THE BRAVES,YANKS MUST HAVE NOT WANTED HIM BACK,BECAUSE THERE IS LESS COMPETITION HERE,HE CAN PLAY FIRST SO MAYBE GLAUS AND HE WILL PLATOON,I DOUBT IT

Tim, didya happen to read the title of this author’s Blog column? Inside the Braves with MLB.com’s Mark Bowman? Thats kinda what I was inferring when i said this being a Braves blog here. And Im pretty sure I read everyone else telling you that since there are NO other Yankee blogs on the internet, gosh how could that have happened? Did the whole world just give up on the Yankees? Braves fans are the only possible people who must want to talk about Yankees rosters and such. Thats such a natural logical conclusion to draw. Oh and the whole idea of bringing in more evidence to support your position, kinda makes you look like an idiot grasping for reasons to keep coming to a blog which chronicles news for a team that you don’t even like much less have a reason to follow.

By the way, the way you keep talking about something we’ve already told you we don’t care about (such as the Yankee’s starting lineup–gosh, i bet thinking about that you get that special girly tickle in your naughty place before your boyfriend tells you sorry, he didn’t mean for it to be over that quick but I digress) makes me think that this must be a medical condition, but since its not because your deaf, and can’t be because your blind, doesn’t leave a whole lotta leeway into thinking…well you do type in all caps a lot. Kinda like waving a flag saying “IDIOT ALERT!” Now i know when i see LARGE POSTS IN ALL CAPS, that means ….thats right. Closet Braves fan who is just screaming to say he can’t wait to come to the park and do the chop.

YEA I READ THE NAME OF THE BLOG, JERKOFF,
IT SAYS ‘MLB’ , FROM MLB.COM, NOT THE ATLANTABRAVES.COM BLOG, WHATS THE MATTER, CAN’T THE BRAVES AFFORD TO GO BUY A DOMAIN NAME AND BUILD THEIR OWN WEBSITE, THAT THEY CAN CALL THEIR OWN…LET ME GUESS THEY DON’T KNOW HOW TO BUILD ONE….
AS FAR AS ‘NO’ OTHER YANKEE BLOGS ON THE INTERNET I CAN SEE YOU’RE ANOTHER MORON BABBLING ABOUT SOMETHING HE’S CLUELESS ABOUT.//
SINCE YOU DON’T PAY THE SERVER BILL TO KEEP THIS BLOG ONLINE WHY DON’T YOU SHUT YOUR STUPID MOUTH, JERKOFF..
APPARENTLY YOU JERKOFFS MUST KEEP UP WITH THE YANKEES ROSTER QUITE WELL, NOW THAT THE BRAVES HAVE CABRERA,DUNN,HINSKE,VISCIANO,(SO FAR)..
IT’S THE OLD YANKEE JEALOUSY ROUTINE,YOU CAN’T WIN LIKE THE YANKS SO YOU TRY TO SIGN THEIR PLAYERS, (SEE ANGELS,ABREU,MATSUI)..
IT’S OBVIOUS YOU ‘ARE’ AN IDIOT BECAUSE YOU MADE TWO POSTS TOTAL BABBLING ON ABOUT WHAT I POSTED, RUNNING OFF AT THE MOUTH AS USUAL ABOUT SOMETHING YOU KNOW ZERO ABOUT…
I’M QUITE SURE ALL OF THE BRAVES FANS JUST SIT AROUND ALL DAY LONG WAITING FOR YOUR MORONIC COMMENTS…
ALL YOU CAN SAY IS WE DON’T CARE,WE DON’T CARE,WE DON’Y CARE, BLAH BLAH BLAH I’M SURE YOU SPEAK FOR ALL THE BRAVES FANS ‘THAT YOU DON’T EVEN KNOW’ WHEN YOU SHOOT ENDLESS DRIBBLE OUT OF YOUR MOUTH…
BUT I’LL TELL YOU IF YOU WANT TO GET ‘personal ‘ like you did in your last post, i’d be happy to meet you in person any place, anywhere,ANYTIME and we can discuss this further, or let me guess you’re just one of those ‘PUNKS’ who likes to run his mouth online that never backs it up.
I KNOW YOUR KIND, THEY COME A DIME A DOZEN

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